Month: October 2014

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

Posted on By Margot

I have a small but select list of authors that are good for comfort reading. Robert Galbraith (aka J K Rowling) has become a member of this elite club. To qualify for this club, an author must write books which are good reads, good enough to be worthy of a second or even a third reading. Also, the book must have a good story, well told, and be pleasurable to read. This book ticks all the boxes. It was a good port of refuge as I struggle through The Narrow Road to the Deep North.

The Silkworm follows on The Cuckoo's Calling with its unlikely pair of detectives, Cormoran Strike and Robin. Lurking in the background is Matthew, Robin's cross, unimaginative and slightly jealous fiancé who Robin is shortly due to marry. Love interest between Cormoran and Robin? None, Cormoran is still in love with Caroline, the unstable beauty, Charlotte, who dumped him in The Cuckoo's Calling. And Robin does love Matthew, whatever his failings.

So what is the book about – a detective story, and like all good detective stories, there is a body and a race against time to clear the prime suspect's name. There is a theme, and this time Galbraith has set the story against the backdrop of the bizarre work of publishing.

A good novel should take you out of your comfort zone and open your eyes to a different world. I now know more about a certain type of literature that I would never consider reading, the gothic sex/horror novel. Galbraith has populated the novel with a memorable cast of characters; there is the transgender girl/boy, the grotesque literary agent, the predictable police detective, the very peculiar publisher. There two characters which really stand out for me are Leonora Quine, the wife of the victim, and the daughter, Orlando. Orlando is twenty-five, has significant learning difficulties and lives at home, sadly now just with her mum. Leonora is brilliantly drawn; a woman who can be dismissed by a few lines as thin, grey, mousy, few social graces. And yet. Leonora, seemingly totally unimaginative, focused on what she and her daughter now need for survival has to be respected. Even under the greatest pressure, she does not crumble. Arrested and imprisoned for a crime she did not commit, Orlando, her vulnerable daughter, is still her concern. There is no room for displays of grief in Leonora's world, for she is there to provide predictability and normality for her family. For years she had been the wife of Owen, a flamboyant and imaginative author. Whatever his latest mistress thought, Owen would not have left his wife and daughter. His home was where his typewriter was, and hi study and those domestic routines that allowed him to write.

Do we see something here about Rowling/Galbraith's view on relationships? That volatile, interesting relationships are not sustainable, what sustains a relationship and thereby marriage is love, concern, friendship, loyalty, affection – the qualities that are there in the relationship between Robin and Matthew but were never present between Cormoran and Charlotte?

This book is a great read.

The Silkworm (Cormoran Strike)

The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

Posted on By Margot

Normally I would not read (or listen to) a book like this as it is far from my comfort zone, centring as it does on the construction of the Thailand Burma railway by the Japanese combined with the romantic liaisons of the main character. And it is the winner of the man Booker Prize 2014. Somehow, the prize seems to be won by difficult books that can only be read by enthusiasts, selected by experts, and I just do not have that literary background. OK – so I have actually read some of the other books that have won, and enjoyed them – such as the Life of Pi and Mantel's Wolf Hall.

The book is not the easiest read. It can be confusing, especially if you are listening to it, rather than reading it. The confusion lies in the way that Flanagan weaves several strands together, but always in the same voice. And at the core is the narrative of the men on the Line. Dorrigo Evans' women, his adventures with them, their embrace and his longing for their bodies are in sharp contrast to the brutal reality of Japanese occupied Burma and the fate of the POWs. It is this that makes the story bearable. Every time you feel enough, you lurch forward or back into the arms of a woman.

And then there is the novel's title. The Narrow Road to the Deep North. Written by the poet Matsuo Basho, the work is a poetic diary of his travels through Japan in the 17th Century, and as such is one of the major texts of classical Japanese literature, the soul of Japan. Stark contrast to the reality in Burma and the war which devoured the humanity of all in its wake. At one point Dorrigo thinks "The world is. It just is" There is no rhyme or reason for its being. And here we find the existentialism and humanism of Flanagan's Dorrigo merging with the Zen Buddhism of Basho. Then there is Japan. There are two Japans. The first is the noble vision of Basho's Japan. And the second if the inhuman machine if Imperial Japan that destroys the humanity of all caught in its thrall, the imperial machine that rewards psychopaths and bullies and turns others, more gentle souls into its fodder.

Is this an enjoyable read? No. Yet there is something that says read on, for if you do not, then the stories of all those who suffered and died in Burma on the railway will be lost. And that is why I continue reading.

The Small Hand by Susan Hill

Posted on By Margot

Dear reader, just a warning. If you have not read the book and/or seen the play and you wish to do so, then read no further. A ghost story needs suspense and knowing what will happen removes that suspense.

I read the book, because I was about to see the play. The book is enjoyable, if a little short. And the play is suspenseful with lots of scary moments. However, the play and the book tell two different if not related stories. This I found very disappointing because when I went to see the play I was looking forward to seeing how certain parts of the story would be portrayed on the stage and certainly how the bittersweet ending would be handled. Instead a different ending was inserted and a different story told.

Adam Snow, antiquarian book dealer in quest of a first folio Shakespeare becomes Adam Snow, art dealer in quest of a rare and early Rossetti. The remote French monastery becomes a Scottish castle. The list goes on. The substitution of the Scottish castle for the monastery seriously changes the story. In the book, Adam goes to the monastery to view the Shakespeare folio, and in the process has two encounters with the small hand, both encounters nearly result in his death. For these sorry times, this story is a rarity, presenting Catholic monasticism in a positive light. Adam has found a sanctuary among the monks, who are will to offer support and a place of safety for as long as he needs. The abbot advises Adam that he has a choice, either to just accept this less than benign intrusion of the small hand into his life and hope that eventually it will move on, or he can "draw the sting". The choice is his. And of course, Adam chooses the latter and the story moves into the second phase.

As the book draws to its tragic conclusion, more and more the nature of the "ghost" becomes the focus. Adam recovers some of the past, his past, his childhood and he confronts his brother Hugo to discover the truth of a fateful afternoon when they were children. You are left with the question: is the deadly and malevolent spirit of the small hand really the ghost of a small child, or is it the personification of guilt, Hugo's guilt, for his actions that afternoon. "At eleven years old, one is still a child. I tell myself so" says Hugo. That may be so, but the guilt, that deadly secret remains active and grows like a cancer, all consuming. Hill has used this theme before, the theme that children are moral agents and are capable of good and evil (for instance in I'm the King of the Castle").

The change to the story in the play completely removes this and one wonders about the motives of the playwright, Catholicism, guilt, moral agency are excised and in its place is what? A weakened story. A pleasant, gently scary story that does not challenge. There is no mirror held up to our lives, making us think and reflect. And for this, the play is disappointing, it is ordinary and common place.

Recommendation

Read the book in one sitting.

Watch the play, it is entertaining but is not the story in the book.

The modern day Scribes and Pharisees of the Catholic Church

Posted on By Margot

Saturday 18 October 2014: Breaking news – Synod of Bishops reject “welcome to Gays” and also reject accepting divorced and remarried Catholics.

The conservative bishops in the Catholic Church have won, and Pope Francis’s attempt to “modernise” the Church has failed. A triumph for the old order. But only just. At stake was the acceptance of homosexual relationships and the end to the permanent excommunication for those who had divorced and then remarried. What was needed was a two thirds majority for these proposals. There was a majority, that is the good news, but not a sufficient majority to bring about change.

This though is just the start of the battle. The Catholic Church has a problem with sex and gender; the symptoms are for all to see, from paedophile priests to the bizarre ban on all forms of “artificial” contraception, as well as the issue of women’s ministry in the Church. Our bishop has resigned, a good bishop, because he could not cope with the demands of a celibate life. These bishops and archbishops and cardinals have been appointed by conservative popes – the miracle is that so many are willing to look again at Catholic teaching and practice and to vote for change.

There is another problem. An arch- conservative faction of the laity, now gathered under an umbrella called “The Voice of the Family”. There are other organisations, such as the Association of Catholic Women. A faction that sees itself as the guardians of the true Church, ready to write to the bishop each time there is a deviation from the “true” teaching of the Church.

And where would Jesus be in all this? What would he say, he who turned on those trying to trap him saying “Alas for you lawyers also! You load men with intolerable burdens, and will not lift a finger to lighten the load” (Luke 11:46 – from the Gospel read on Wednesday 15th October 2014). What would Jesus say to those wishing enforce “Church teaching” in all its rigidity? Such teaching that denounces all gay relationships, bars those who are divorced and remarried from the life of the Church, or prevents couples resorting to IVF when this is the only hope of having a healthy child and demands total celibacy from a 100% male clergy? Would a modern day Gospel have Jesus dining at the home of Zechariah and his partner? Would the marriage at Cana be between a man and a woman who have both been divorced?

Pope Francis is to be commended for his efforts to bring the compassion of Jesus back into the pastoral teaching of the Catholic Church.

And for this who oppose this, the Scribes and Pharisees of the Catholic Church? Did Jesus really say at the Last Supper “take this and eat, but only if you obey the letter of the law”?

Links

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-29678751#

Reading in October 2014

Posted on By Margot

October and the nights are drawing in. And my journey to work is getting longer – and longer. A few days ago my 45 minute commute became 2½ hours as the Heathrow area descended into gridlock. So now is to time to dig out the audio books, and perhaps the eReader again.

 This was funny in all the right places, pleasantly anarchic and boring. Somehow I had already read something like this – in the form of Jonas Jonasson’s The Hundred Year Old Man and The Girl who Saved the King of Sweden. Underpinning these two books is a liberal and tolerant view of humanity combined with a “Horrible Histories” view of modern history. These two made the books eminently enjoyable to listen too. But I have given up on the Little Old Lady. Perhaps if I had found her before I found The Hundred year Old Man I would have persevered.
Next book to be abandoned was The Kabul Beauty Shop. Set in Kabul, this is the account of Deborah Rodriguez’s life in Afghanistan as she sets up a school to train Afghan women to be hair dressers and beauticians.

It does provide a fascinating view on a woman’s life in Kabul, the cruelty, the daily privations, and how life is lived in a burqa.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Little Coffee shop of Kabul, but this book drags. Perhaps it is the difference between a story, a narrative that pulls you along and account, which becomes a catalogue.

So what am I planning to read this October:

Booker Prize winner Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North. Audio book – I started to listen to this and decided to get the eBook version as well as it is a little difficult to follow at times in audio book format.

Short listed: We are all completely beside ourselves by Karen Fowler – audio book.

And Susan Hill’s The Small Hand as we are due to see this as a stage play in Guildford.

Lastly, the latest Robert Galbraith novel The Silkworm for light relief.

The King and Queen in Wisley Gardens

Posted on By Margot

Today we went to see the King and Queen at Wisley. And there they were, bethroned in splendid majesty, holding court at the head of the Canal. Serene, timeless, unchanging, a fairy-tale couple in a fairy-tale world.

Henry Moore’s sculpture came to Wisley Gardens in February this year, on loan until the end of September. And now there is a stay of execution, the loan has been extended “due to popular demand”. Of course it would be lovely if this work of art could find a permanent home at Wisley. Great gardens need great sculpture, and the garden at Wisley could be a really great garden for the whole human being, a place of beauty and for education. The RHS would answer that Wisley Gardens is a place for education, this is their focus, they campaign for school gardening, Wisley Gardens hosts a Clore learning space. Their remit is education, to pass on skills and knowledge and the love of gardening. This is not education for the soul, but for the mind and the body. Not for the soul.

Great art brings transcendence. Great art lifts our experience to a different plane, so we become a different type of human being. Great art is about our humanity. Great art places us on Dover beach, and demands that we call back the ebbing tide, so once more the sea of faith surrounds us.

And so, the King and Queen sit in state at Wisley and remind us of who we are, men and women, women and men, at once part of, and transcending nature.

References:

Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold

Henry Moore Foundation

The death of a liberal – Cardinal Martini (1927 – 2012)

Posted on By Margot

As the Synod of the Family is underway in Rome (October 2014), perhaps the words of Cardinal Martini should be remembered by all the Bishops in an interview just before his death:

“Our culture has aged, our churches are big and empty and the church bureaucracy rises up. The Church must admit its mistakes and begin a radical change, starting from the Pope and the bishops. The paedophilia scandals oblige us to take a journey of transformation” (‘ADDIO A MARTINI, “Chiesa indietro di 200 anni”, L’ultima intervista: “Perché non si scuote, perché abbiamo paura?” Corriere della Sera, 1 Settembre 2012)

Like Pope Francis, Cardinal Martini was a man who was in touch with ordinary people.

Carlo Mario Martini was born in Turin in 1927, he joined the Jesuits at the age of 17 and was ordained 8 years later. Carlo Martini was primarily an academic, a world renowned biblical scholar and later Rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University. In 1979, Pope John Paul II appointed Martini as Archbishop of Milan, one of the largest diocese in the world, a post which he held until he retired in 2002. Martini became a cardinal in 1983. For several years after his retirement, Martini battled with Parkinson’s disease, the same illness that incapacitated PopeJohn Paul.

Controversy

Cardinal Martini was regarded by some as a liberal (and therefore, it is sad to say, suspect). However, I found that he spoke with a great deal of common sense. For instance, on the debate on where does a human life begin. The absolutist position of official Church teaching is that human life begins at the point of fertilisation. Martini begged to differ, that a distinct human life comes later. As you can see, Martini was verging on the point of heresy against today’s orthodox Catholic teaching.

The reason why the death of Cardinal Martini hit the headlines is because of his last interview recorded just weeks before his death and published the day after in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, saying “Our culture has aged, our churches are big and empty and the church bureaucracy rises up, our rituals and our cassocks are pompous..”

Martini was a good man, and deserves our prayers. May he rest in peace.

Links

http://www.mmhawkes.co.uk/belief-or-nonbelief-by-carlo-martini-unmberto-eco/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19451439

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/01/world/europe/cardinal-carlo-maria-martini-papal-contender-dies-at-85.html

http://www.news.va/en/news/cardinal-carlo-martini-dead-at-85

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Maria_Martini

 

 

 

Islamic State or Satanic State?

Posted on By Margot

I am the One that whispers in the ear of the believer. My voice is beguiling, seductive.

I promise much to the one who follows me. Such rewards. Paradise at the highest level. Wealth. Power. Women. Whatever you desire I can give you.

I whisper in the ear, “Come, and I can show you the true meaning of what is written – a meaning that is hidden from the eyes of the ordinary believer. But you are special. You will understand what others cannot. And you are brave enough to act on this”

I whisper in the ear to the one who longs to hear my voice, “Come you are my chosen one, follow me. For today we will take vengeance on those who deny the truth, today the kafir will die, the kafir and his wife and his children. I may call you to become a martyr, for that will please me and your reward will be great, I may call you to give your life to kill the kafir”.

I whisper “You are chosen to show that Islam is not the soft religion that so many want it to be, a cosy religion that absorbs the heresy of democracy and allows different faiths to live together. Come I can show you that this is blasphemy.”

I whisper, “Come you are called, join my Jihad”

I whisper and they listen.

My name is Satan and my black flag is flying.

Editor’s note:

Ordinary Muslims are incredibly upset at what they see is happening. Al Qaeda and the Islamic State are the complete antithesis of what they believe. Satan is at work, now just as he has been throughout the whole of human history, whispering in the ears of anyone who will listen. Islamic state or Satanic State – the choice is yours.